Volkswagen has dropped its court battle with Suzuki over the GTi badge.
VW was appealing a court ruling in a brand infringement case against estranged partner Suzuki which dates back to 2004 when the German carmaker contested an application granted to Suzuki allowing it to use the vehicle nameplate “Swift GTi” as a trademark for a derivative of its small car.
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The General Court of the European Union said in March that the Suzuki version could not be confused with VW’s own high-performance Golf GTI which it had trademarked in Germany and other international markets.
The ruling came amid an arbitration battle over whether VW may be forced to divest its stake in Suzuki – just under 20% bought for EUR1.7bn (US$2.2bn) as part of a broad alliance agreed more than two years ago.
